


Medical Bay

by Ludella



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Established Relationship, M/M, not a sick fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-13
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-10-04 07:32:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10271495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ludella/pseuds/Ludella
Summary: Sidon takes Link down to a medical pool in the palace and washes the hero laying on top of him in the water.Link can't help but wonder if Sidon wouldn't rather have anyone else.[Not a sick/wounded fic. Just intimate washing and baths]





	

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't realize until I typed 'medical bay' that it was a pun so please appreciate it at this moment.
> 
> Also this is [Sidon and Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de6uTMEiZf0)

In retrospect, Link knew he shouldn’t have voiced any complaints to the zora prince at all.

Sidon was just the type to take any issue he had an immediately work to rectify it, even if it meant beating a door he had stubbed his toe on into submission, or yelling at the fish who gave Link a stomach ache. It was all done lightheartedly and in good spirits, as everything he did was, but he worried for the day he slipped up and said something about Ganon being too meddlesome. No doubt he would watch Sidon personally barge into Hyrule Castle after the demon himself.

So when he offhandedly mentioned his battle wounds still ached after sleeping in the zora’s water beds and saw Sidon’s face light up with an idea, Link felt immediate regret.

“Our Grand Hero of Hyrule cannot defeat evil in anything less than top condition!” he raved, dragging Link by the hand into the depths of the Zora Palace he hadn’t had the time (or permission) to explore. “Not to mention, what kind of king-to-be am I if I let our Great Savior leave my kingdom feeling anything besides perfect and satisfied!”

He wasn’t actually annoyed with the brightness of the zora who’d become so close to his heart; quite the opposite. It was all incredibly endearing, and since all Link had planned today was to go hunting for another journey where he wouldn’t see the other for weeks, he decided it was acceptable to relax a little longer.

The inside of the palace wasn’t private, per se, but definitely not just for anyone to explore. Sidon took him winding through halls lined with waterfalls, wall to wall aquariums, and floors that shone like they were walking on diamond. Zoras were not only the wisest and most spiritual race housed in Hyrule, but definitely the most elaborate and decorative. Link enjoyed it in a way one appraised anything foreign that wasn’t bad. He was used to the niceties of a palace, having trained to be a knight all his life. But this? Hyrule Castle couldn’t compare.

Sidon threw a glance over his shoulder at Link and received a thumbs up to show he was following. The toothy grin he gave was almost enough to convince Link to stay more than a few hours longer.

When they reached their destination, Sidon carefully opened a set of double doors into what could only be described as an oasis. It wasn’t unusual to see pools around every corner of Zora’s Domain, but this was different.

The water was brighter, sparkling as if someone had meticulously placed every glimmer in the pool by hand. The only lights were made of luminous stone and cast the entire room in a hazy blue that mimicked the glow of Sheikah technology for a split second. In the middle was what appeared to be an altar filled with various bottles, boxes, and pots in an organized fashion Link couldn’t decipher from where he stood. On the walls, water trickled in delicate, sheet-thin waterfalls just gentle enough to still see the mosaics depicting Zora history between pillars.

Despite the unmistakable beauty of the room, Link couldn’t gather what use there could be to room that was just another pool. Weren’t there enough? Before he had a chance to voice his concerns, however, the clawed hand holding his tugged him inside to close the doors.

“This is one of our medical bays,” Sidon explained as if he could read his mind, “it’s more for illnesses of the magical sort. Recently it’s been used more for zoras affected by calamity, and so on.”

It explained the equipment in the middle of the room. This water must be enchanted, Link thought, realizing what he was seeing now was something Hylians would pay thousands of rupees for one drop of. The fact Sidon was showing him such a treasure of the zora people was not of the least remarkable events recently.

He felt Sidon pause more than he heard the silence before he spoke again.

“This was Mipha’s favorite place in the palace when she wasn’t out comforting and helping all of our townspeople.”

Ah.

He watched Sidon’s eyes flit about the room, as if merely walking in here was all it took to wrap him in a lifetime’s amount of insecurities. Those small worries, the tiny frowns Sidon hid when they were together, and his sister all seemed to be the only things that could drown the zora prince.

Within seconds, he lit back up, stepping backwards into the water to keep his eye on Link.

“If you’d like to remove your armor, I learned enough from her to treat your wounds. Or, I guess, the scars?” he offered, wading naturally in the water. Link didn’t waste any time in making a decision, carefully stripping down to his undergarments and leaving his armor neatly folded by edge of the pool where the marble dipped down. He looked to Sidon for instruction and only received an enthusiastic nod and an outstretched hand.

In the back of his mind, Link recalled a memory he never had of willingly stepping into the Shrine of Resurrection. The idea of this pool was not entirely different, and he absentmindedly wondered over a collaboration between Sheikah and Zora before Sidon’s hand guiding him into the water brought him back to the present.

He became confused, however, when Sidon leaned back in the water until he was lying horizontally, as if it were solid enough to walk on.

“Come here--promise I won’t bite!” he patted his chest with a grin while he spoke, and Link couldn’t deny the initial flush of heat that washed over his face before he pushed it down. Sidon was never so forward when it came to anything intended to be romantic, and yet the things that were most romantic seemed to be the ones he did without thinking. He had stuttered through five entire minutes before working up the courage to ask for permission to kiss Link’s cheek.

With the fond memory warming his heart, Link used his hand as leverage to push himself out of the water and onto the zora’s large body. It took a bit of situation and lumbering up his chest (“Ah, Link, watch out, my scales run top to bottom!”) before he was able to settle comfortably and remarkably unscathed. Link let himself relax with his face nuzzled into Sidon’s collar, stripped of his finery, and his hands curled up at his chest. 

Even stretched out like this, his feet just barely reached Sidon’s thighs and what was usually frustrating was suddenly a comfort to him. It wasn’t often somebody offered to hold the hero of legend, warrior of their time and savior of the lands. Yet Sidon acted as if it were the most normal thing in the world--despite his constant praise, he spoke to Link as a person. If anything, one could argue he praised Link so highly because he treated him like a regular person.

The curve of a claw gently ran down his spine and Link visibly tensed before calming not even a second later. A hand smoothed his lower back in apology before disappearing beneath the pool and bringing a handful of water over his neck. He was surprised to find the temperature wasn’t freezing was one would expect, but comfortingly cool--enough to coax a pleased sigh out of him. He felt Sidon chuckle before more water came down over his back with the slight scratch of fingers spreading it over his skin.

Even though he had felt the water when he first stepped in, it felt different now, resting on Sidon with his eyes closed. It was as if the prince was covering him in honey without the uncomfortable stickiness, or an elixir being absorbed through skin alone. He already always tingled wherever Sidon touched, but tonight felt different. This was the most intimate they had ever been together and Link’s mind didn’t stray to anything more than what was occurring that moment.

“You have many scars,” Sidon finally broke the silence built up after minutes. He didn’t indicate any need for a response, so Link only nodded against his chest. It was true; he fought many battles. A good few of them were likely from Vah Ruta herself, though he would never tell his lover that he was hurt under any mission he was remotely involved in. They needed Vah Ruta on their side and not crushed into dust by an angry Zora Prince, after all.

Fingers rubbed at his neck more firmly now, feeling the knots Link had complained about earlier and seeking them out without slicing him on his claws.

“You are still very beautiful.”

Link shivered.

He used both hands to push against Sidon’s chest and lift himself up enough to see his face. The hand massaging his neck now rested on his shoulder before it came up to trace his jaw with the back of his knuckles.

Below him, Sidon was halfway submerged in the sparkling water, though it lapped enough at his face to cover him in its iridescent glow. It was as if he was surrounded by a halo of stars, and Link dipped his hand in the water by his head to bring up and trickle over his face. Sidon didn’t need to blink, allowing the water to wash over his cheeks and eyes with a content smile. 

Finally, Link opened his mouth to speak.

“You are far more.”

As the light of Sidon’s grin put the magic in the water to shame, Link couldn’t help but let his mind wander naively. Staring at Sidon like this, being held in his arms, enjoying the only tenderness he had received since he woke up, he imagined a kinder world. A time where he and this dear prince were relieved of their roles and had no debt or destiny to fulfill, free to travel the lands as they pleased. They were both heroes at heart; they could be mercenaries, helping those they encountered and being satisfied with their actions at the end of the day.

They would have to find armor and equipment that would even fit Sidon enough for actual battle. All he had now was his scales which, while strong, would not protect him from severe climates. All zoras could use spears, but Sidon expressed an interest in the sword more--likely to spare himself the comparison with his sister. Link would have to find him an entire armory to sort through before his pickiness was settled and a weapon was deemed mighty enough.

In the day, they would travel by foot, not bothering with horseback as they went off the roads. Sidon would take a detour at every river and lake in sight with the excuse of catching fish, though Link knew it was because he missed the water. But he would assure him there was nowhere else he would rather be. Link realized that, in this other world, perhaps Mipha would be alive to rule the Zora in his stead. Maybe all the champions would be alive--Zelda wouldn’t be hurting, wouldn’t even need a knight as she had so persistently told him herself.

In Sidon’s eyes below him, Link saw all the possibilities stretched out before him. All the other ways this could have gone, the other lives they could have lived together outside of war without restraints of responsibility. He wished he could change the world to achieve such a dream, if not for himself then for Sidon’s sake more than anything.

The Zora prince didn’t deserve this kind of lifestyle. Tomorrow, Link would leave once again without any sure sign of when (or if) he would return. Sidon will worry. He will stand in front of his older sister’s statue and speak to her, asking how she had been able to love Link and if it had hurt as much as he did now. His heart always had new scars when Link came back to visit, and he couldn’t deny they were from himself. _ If only I didn’t have to be the hero _ , he would catch himself thinking, _ I could give Sidon the love and life he deserves _ .

_ If someone else were to offer him something better... _

Zelda’s words of insecurity in fate rang true to him now more than ever.

Once again, it took the touch of Sidon’s wet hand against his cheek to return Link to reality. When he did, it was to find the zora below him staring up at him with the most care and  _ awe _ anyone had ever faced him with. He knew what it was to be revered as a warrior--but now, it was as if Sidon was looking through him entirely and holding up the man that lay beneath the burden of his destiny.

“I must be the happiest man alive right now.”

The tone of his voice made Link freeze, his stomach dropping at the weight of his words.

Sidon had never considered anything else; to him, this was it.

And instead of enjoying now, Link had been elsewhere entirely.

He leaned down and gathered Sidon’s face in both of his hands, barely able to cover anything with their size, but tilted his head up for a kiss nonetheless. Sidon met him in the middle eagerly, and they were eaten by their own world entirely.

His smile, his laugh, and his kiss.

This, this, and this. Everything Sidon gifted wholly and without restraint.

If this was all he had for the rest of his life, then destiny be damned.

He would sooner lock this room and drown together.


End file.
